Coml512 m2group4project

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Building Army Building Future

COML 512 A1, Module 2, Group 4 Project February 12, 2012

A Communications Strategy for Next Generation Recruiting

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Kelsey VilanovaMargaret Shartel

Nichola ToddRosemary Younts

Seth Waite

5StarMarketing

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How can innovative technology be effectively leveraged as an integrated component of a long-term strategy to consistently attract qualified youth to serve our country in peace time and at war?

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Background

– Prime candidates for recruiting less inclined to enlist

– Growing number of influential adults not recommending Army service (Sacket & Mayor, 2010, p. 19)

Prolonged Middle East conflict has taken a toll and led to negative public sentiment (Harrison, 2009, April, p. 5)

Army’s challenge to stabilize and rebuild is dependent on attracting best and brightest next generation soldiers

Traditional recruiting methods no longer work and times call for new multi-faceted, carefully targeted strategy (Sacket & Mayor, p. 6)

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Research

Army requirements for new recruits:

– 17 to 35 years of age

– Healthy and in good physical shape

– Of high moral integrity

– High school graduate (US Army Info Site)

Other complex factors make up new recruit profile

Primary Target Stakeholders

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Research

Generational attitudes impact recruiting efforts

– ‘Millennial’ Generation youth considered hot commodity as Baby Boomers retire

o Army faces increased competition with civilian labor market

– Youth placing greater emphasis on education and college o Record number of college enrollments expected to increase

(Sacket & Mayor, 2010, p. 25)

Suggests that extending outreach from high schools to more college campuses could be recruiting opportunity


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Research

Technological savvy of new recruits represents unique challenge

– Skills outpace any other generation

– Careers in high tech highly desirable (Zazanis, 2010, p. 12)

Introducing SGT STAR on Army website a smart move:

– Increased length of time on website

– Answered over 8 million questions

– Rated 280% better than normal websites (SGT STAR Delivers, 2011, p. 1)

Reflects need to further utilize innovative technology


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Research

New recruit demographic characteristics (Recruiting FAQs, 2001, December 19)


White

African American

Hispanic

Asian/Pacific Is.

Native American

62.2%

19.8%

16.32%4.5% .8%

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ResearchPrimary Target Stakeholders

New recruit demographic characteristics (Recruiting FAQs, 2001, December 19)

Male

Female

83.78%

16.32%

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Research

New recruit geographic characteristics

– Numbers of new recruits heavily concentrated in specific US regions

– Number of new recruits also skewed toward rural and suburban areas

States ranking in bottom 10 for new recruit enlistments:

Combined 12 million potential new recruits in these states – wide open territory for recruiting (Congressional Budget Office, 2009, July)


CaliforniaConnecticutMassachusettsMinnesota

New JerseyNew YorkNorth Dakota

Rhode IslandUtahWashington DC

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Research

Parents, counselors have a major influence on target stakeholder decisions to join military– Estimated 50% of parents discourage children from joining Army

(Sacket & Mayor, 2010, p. 8)

These stakeholders are also not as adept at, or interested in new technology as primary target stakeholders (Sacket & Mayor, p. 10)

Secondary Target Stakeholders

“When parents and other influential adults dissuade young people from enlisting, it begs the question of what our national staying power might be for the future” (US Army General Rochelle as cited in Cave, 2009, June 3, para. 14).

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Research

Recruiters are a powerful tool for maintaining Army forces:

“What recruiters bring is the personal touch and personality to convey the honor and value of the

military and to motivate potential recruits to service”

(US Army Captain Arendt as cited in Miles, 2009, para. 4)

More than 8,000 Army soldiers assigned as recruiters

– Recruiters receive 6 weeks of training (Recruiting FAQs, 2011, December 19)


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Research

Recruiters operate in hierarchical structure with leadership many layers removed

– 6 Brigades command up to 8 Battalions, for a total of 38 Battalions

– Battalions command 230 Companies

– 230 Companies command 1,600 recruiting stations

– All geographically spread across the country (Recruiting FAQs, 2011, December 19).


US Army Recruiting Command

Brigades

Battalions

Company

Stations(Recruiters)

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Research

Multiple organizational layers challenge recruiters

Stress is number one complaint due to:

– Long working hours

– Pressure to make “unreasonable” enlistment goals

– Fear of failing at career

– Lack of support and information from supervisors (Penney, Sutton & Borman, 2010, February, p 7)


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Research

Studies on recruiter quality of life indicate:

– 65% of recruiters are dissatisfied with their jobs

– 47% believe there is a disconnect in knowledge and communications within the Recruiting Command and do not feel like part of the team (Johnson, 2009, p. 4)

One local study by 5Star Marketing shows some recruiters are unaware of SGT STAR and other marketing efforts


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Research

Studies shows impact of national television advertising is positive,

but short-lived (Dertouzous & Polich, 2008, p. 30)

National radio, print and other direct mail efforts were found to have no measurable effect on new enlistments (Dertouzous & Polich, 2008, p. 30)

Center for Cybernetic Studies reports localizing advertisingby regions in the United States has longer-lastingeffects (Charnes, 2009, p. 31).

Effectiveness of National Advertising

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Strategy Three main stakeholder groups and communication issues identified

through research for each form basis for plan strategies, tactics, tools:

Army’s success in attracting, engaging and moving stakeholder groups to action best achieved through targeted 3-pronged approach

Potential new recruits

Parents and Counselors

Army Recruiters

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Strategy

Army’s viability dependent on desire of qualified young people to serve

Potential new recruits are the Army’s “customers”

Messages must not only inform and educate, but appeal to their interests

– Must extend to women, minorities, under-represented geographic regions

Appropriate communication channels are key (Wilson & Ogden, 2008, p. 85)

Popular SGT STAR provides a starting platform

Objectives of other technologies focused on creating relationships, establishing trust and presenting a value proposition

Potential New Recruits

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Strategy

Key messages aligned with research will focus on:

– Positioning Army as career opportunity

– Changing negative perceptions

– Depicting Army as diverse

– Portraying Army as partner in education duringhigh school, through college or graduate school

Potential New Recruits

o Pay now on comparable scale to civilian wageso Benefits and wages have grown more rapidly than overall economy since 2006

o Army to be seen as a ‘high tech’ industry

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Strategy

Success dependent upon support, respect and favor of those with power to influence primary stakeholders

Relationships and trust must be built with parents and counselors to develop advocates for the Army

Channels for communicating will overlap in many cases with primary stakeholders

– Must also be unique to recognize differences in technology skills and interests


o Grass roots efforts well suited to this stakeholder group

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Strategy

Key messages will concentrate on:

– Education about the many programs, services and benefits Army offers young people

– Opportunities Army provides for young people to receive education and become confident leaders of tomorrow

– The success of young men and women across the country that have taken advantage of these opportunities


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Strategy

Recruiting goals are only as good as recruiters that achieve them

Recruiters have hard time selling value of Army in current environment

External factors not only cause for recruiter stress and dissatisfaction

– Organizational barriers within Recruiting Command impact job

Plan components to address barriers centered on:

– Leadership engagement

– Enhancing flow of information/communication

– Increasing interaction among organizational functions

– Developing supportive team culture

Army Recruiters

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Strategy

Methodologies developed to evaluate impact of campaign tactics and tools each step of the way

Evaluation will demonstrate effectiveness and document progress

– Will provide opportunity to make modifications if needed; critical in environment where technology is constantly changing

Success of campaign will be measured by:

– Increased interest and engagement by all stakeholder groups

– Positive shift in attitudes and perceptions among stakeholder groups

– Growing number of qualified and diverse young adults enlisting

Evaluation

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Implementation

Campaign Launch

Initial campaign launch will gain immediate recognition, build momentum

Highly visible platform required for SGT STAR to introduce new fellow virtual employee - a female STAFF SGT avatar

– New female STAFF SGT avatar also added to Army website (goarmy.com) giving visitors second choice

Launch will employ nation-wide major network TV commercials; national and regional print media

Mobility applications introduced simultaneously

Primary Stakeholder Tools and Evaluation

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Implementation

Both virtual soldier avatars (life size, screen projected) will immediately hit the road touring targeted high schools and colleges across country

– Addressing careers, benefits, training, education

– Destination points will include under-represented states

Tour advertising communicated online and through social channels

– Cost effective and inline with short-lived impact of national advertising

– Post tour assessment from information collected at event registration

– Tracking new recruit enlists (by region and demographics)


Evaluation

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Implementation

Blog

Content created to compliment avatar tours and Army website (goarmy.com) experiences:

– Encourage participation and registration with website virtual chat program

– Provide solutions to questions, enable sharing of positive avatar experiences, encourage enlistment

Strong call to action for unique, personal experience only available by signing in to facilitate greater registration

Serves as hub for acquiring new registrations and encouraging sharing through email and social media


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Implementation

Blog

Evaluation

Metrics designed to measure and adjust blog content and acquisition strategy:

– Unique visitors; returning visitors; pages viewed per visit

– Visitor source (referral, search engine, direct, email, etc.)

– Conversion rate (visits to registration)

– Conversion rate per visitor source

– New registration to enlistment rate


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Implementation

Email

Series of emails sent out regularly to:

– Encourage return traffic to website

– Answer questions

– Survey perceptions

– Motivate sharing of website and virtual avatar chats by friends and family via social media


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Implementation

Email

Email campaign begins immediately after registering, segmented by:

– Interest (job opportunities, education, etc.)

– Purpose (recruit, parent, counselor)

– Perception

Segmenting allow users a personal experience on website based on needs/interests and increases registration and enlistment rates


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Implementation

Email

Evaluation

Using data pulled from email open rates, links clicked and on-site responses, registrants measured to perceive intended use

Email advantage is ability to be used autonomously on large scale

Metrics important to understand:

– Content read, call to action links clicked, headlines attracting most interest

Recording process of email unsubscribes will help recruiters understand interest and recruiting cycles


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Implementation

Social Media

Facebook a primary aggregate for social media content

SGT STAR and the new female avatar will use current Facebook page to curate content from Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn social channels

Twitter provides opportunity to answer questions in real-time, allowing the avatars to have a presence across the country

– Twitter channel also allows for geographic targeting of interested recruits

Using Twitter to funnel followers to blog increases registrations and provides another opportunity to encourage enlistments


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Implementation

Social Media

YouTube channel utilized to help answer questions

– Viewers can also ask questions in comments, see Army stories from recruits, parents, counselors, others

LinkedIn allows Army to focus recruiting on difficult demographics

– As Pro account holder have opportunities to search individuals by skill, location, work experience, interest, employment, education, income, gender

Using these metrics, recruiters can encourage groups to search blog, engage in social media sharing, and chat with website virtual avatars


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Implementation

Social Media

LinkedIn successful as tool for making personal connections to individuals who will be 5 star recruits in medical, technology and engineering fields

Evaluation

Will track people coming to sites from social media sources (and segment) using metrics from tools on blog and website

Tools like Radian 6 used to measure social sentiment with accuracy

Metrics most important to social media include scale of followers, growth rates and social sentiment, which can be tracked through software


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Implementation

Initiate Army training post tours to illustrate the many educational opportunities the Army offers

Build relationships and partnerships for advocacy by creating local Community Advisory Boards

– Especially effective in regions without recruiting station

Areas of focus for boards:

– Need for new recruits

– Parental and counselor support

– Education and awareness of Army educational programs and careers

Specific to Parents and Counselors - Tools and Evaluation

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Implementation

Create parent website featuring videos of stories about their children's experience and why they supported their children's decision to enlist

Evaluation

Post training tour surveys

Use of similar social media metrics for tracking parental website involvement

Work with advisory boards to set goals for participation, volunteer events

Track metrics against expected turnouts and follow-up - revise and adapt as metrics identify successful areas

Specific to Parents and Counselors - Tools and Evaluation

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Implementation

Establish mentor program for recruiters

Form recruiter teams as support groups

Integrate and engage recruiters into all campaign facets

Provide additional training in campaign communication technologies

Open channels of communication between Recruit Command divisions:

–Monthly management meetings

–Monthly 'all-hands' forums to address issues, successes

–Monthly online internal newsletter highlighting organizationalfunctions and spotlighting members of the team

Specific to Recruiters - Tools and Evaluation

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Implementation

Evaluation

Online satisfaction surveys

Focus groups

– Venue to express concerns; discuss what’s working, what’s not

Personal evaluation meetings

– Venue to discuss personal achievements, areas needing improvement

– Look for trends among recruiters

Specific to Recruiters - Tools and Evaluation

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Campaign Budget

Like the rest of the nation, Army operates in times of economic uncertainty, faced with a recruiting budget reduction in 2012 of about 4 percent (Department of the Army, 2012)

Conscious of budget, plan designed cost effectively to deliver more with less, utilizing cost effective technology tools and grass roots efforts in place of large scale mass media advertising that drives cost, yet according to research returns little.

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Timeline

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The next generation of youth will have the greatest influence on the nature of the Army over the

next ten years. The Army needs these “Millennials” to maintain the quality and

viability of the Force. We are confident that through this campaign, youth of tomorrow will

stand ready to serve their country.

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ReferencesCave, D. (2009, June 3). Growing problem for military recruiters: Parents. New York Times. Retrieved from: www.nytimes.com/2005/06/03/.../03recruit.html?pagewanted=all

Charnes, A. (2009, July). Measuring the impact of advertising on Army Recruiting: Data envelopment analysis and advertising effectiveness. Research & Studies Division. US Army Recruiting Command. Retrieved from: www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a236779.pdf

Congressional Budget Office. (2007, July). The all-volunteer military: Issues and performance. Retrieved from: www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=8313&type=0&sequence=1

Dertouzous, J., & Polich, M. (2008). Recruiting efforts of Army advertising. Rand Publication Series. Santa Monica, CA: The Rand Corporation.

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ReferencesHarrison, T. (2009, April 12). Impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on the US Military's plans, programs and budgets. Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. Retrieved from: www.csbaonline.org/wp-content/.../08.12.2009-Impact-of-Wars.pdf

Johnson, F. (2009). Assessing cultural change in the United States Army Recruiting Command. US Army War College Strategy Paper. Retrieved from: www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA494715

Miles, D. (2009, March 14). New Army recruiting programs and incentives. American Forces Press Service. Retrieved from: usmilitary.about.com

Recruiting FAQs. (2011, December 19). Support Army recruiting. Retrieved from: www.2karmy.mil/faqs.htm

Sacket, P., & Mayor, A. (Eds.) (2010). Attitudes, aptitudes, and aspirations of American youth: Implications for Military recruitment. Washington D.C.: The National Academies Press.

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ReferencesSGT STAR Delivers. (2001). Next IT Corporation. Retrieved from:

www.nextit.com/US_Army.htm

Tighe-Murray, C. (2011, January 20). Analysis of federal civilian and military compensation. Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC. Retrieved from: www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=12042&type=1

US Army Accession Command. (2009, February). Assessing cultural change in the United States Army: Strategic plan fiscal years 2008-2013. Retrieved from: www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA494715

Penney, L. M., Sutton, M. J., & Borman, W.C. (2010, February). Recruiting research conducted in the US Army. Personnel Decisions Research Institute, Inc. US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences. Retrieved from: www.hqda.army.mil/ari/pdf/tr1109.pdf

US Army Info Site: Joining the Army. (n.d.). Do you meet the requirements. Retrieved from: www.us-army-info.com/pages/enlist.html

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ReferencesWilson, L.J., & Ogden, J. D. (2008). Strategic communications planning: For effective

public relations and marketing. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company

Zazanis, M. (2010, March). Developing an Army market research index in support of Army recruiting. U.S. Army Research Institute. Retrieved from: www.hqda.army.mil/ari/pdf/tr1109.pdf

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